Safety appliance for railroad-cars.



B. HOOVER.

SAFETY APPLIANcl-I FOR RAILROAD CARS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 19l6.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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BENJAMIN HOOVER, 0F MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SWEBEBT IB. RIEG, 0F MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

Application led September 20, 1916. Serial No. 121,262.

' more particularly to a device for opening the train pipe in case of an accident, such as the derailment of a truck or the Ldropping of a brake beam, whereby the air will escape to the atmosphere to apply the brakes and stop the train without doing appreciable damage or causing a wreck.

Itis the object of the invention to provide a lvalve construction for the train pipe which is normally held closed, and which is opened in the event of an accident, as above indicated, to let the air bleed to the atmosphere yfor applying the brakes, the valve structure being such as to be particularly desirable and eilicacious for its intended purposes-. p

Another object of the invention is the provision of novell means for releasing the valve so that it will open in case of the .dropping of either one of the brake beams of a truck.

A still further objectl of the invention is the provision of novel means for operating the valveinthe event of the excessive or abnormal turning of the truck, as in case of a derailment.

It is also the object of the invention to provide an appliance of the nature indicated which is extremely simple and inexpensive in construction, which can be readily installed upon railroad cars, and which is practical and eliicient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination.v and arrangement ofparts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can bel made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention. t V

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein *Y Figure 1 is a side elevation of the Vappliance, showing parts of a truck in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the appliance. Fig. 3 1s a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 on a slightly enlarged scale. F ig. l isa sectional view taken on the line 4.-1 of F ig. 1 on a slightly enlarged scale.

In the drawing, only a portion of a railroad car and one truck is illustrated, but the showing is sufficient to enable the present invention to be readily understood and appreciated.

The numeral 1 designates the train pipe extending under the car body 2, and a valve casing 3 is interposed in said pipe 1 adjacent to each truck. The casing 3 has an upstanding boss 3a provided with a concaved recess 5 providing a valve seat, there being an outlet port or aperture l leading from the bore of the casing 3 to the center of the recess or valve seat 5. A hemi-spherical valve head 6 is disposed above the boss 3a with its convexed surface uppermost to shed rain and other foreign matter to the sides of the valve casing away from the valve seat, and the head 6 has a radial extension 7 pivoted, as at 8, to the top of the valve casing 3, whereby the head 6 is swingable upwardly away from the valve seat by the pressure of the air, the valve seating by gravity when there is nolair pressure. A substantially hemi-spherical gasket 9 of rubber or other compressible material has its flat side bearing against the fiat side of the head 6, and the gasket 9 is secured to said head by means of a screw 10 or other retaining element extending through the gasket and threaded into the head 6, the head of the screw being counter sunk and embedded in the gasket 9 so as not to Contact with the valve seat. The gasket 9 is adapted to seat snugly in the recess or valve seat 5, to provide an effective closure for normally preventing the escape of air through the port l. The free portion of the head 6 has a depending finger 11 provided with an outstanding lug 12 having an upper rounded surface.

One end portion of the casing 3 is reduced, as at 13, and has mounted for rotation thereon, a ring or collar 14 held in place by means of a nut or retaining element 15 engaged upon the reduced end portion 13. The upper portion of the ring 14 is provided at one side with a lug 16 of arcuate section projecting therefrom toward the boss 3 to move over the lug 12 by a cam action, for depressing said lug 12 and for holding it depressed so as to seat vthe gasket 9 in the recess 5, whereby the valve is held closed.

The ring lat has a depending arm 17 provided with a bore 18 in which a'detent ball 19 is movable, the bottom of the end portion 13 having a rounded recess 20 for receiving the ball 19 under the influence of a coiled wire expansion spring 21 housed in the bore 18 and pressing said ball 19 against the portion 13. The spring 21 is held in place by a removable plug 22 threaded into the bore 18, and the ball 19 in engaging in the recess 20 will hold the ring 14 in place against accidental displacement, but the ring 14 can be rotated in either direction by force,.to release the valve and permit it to swing open, whereby to discharge the air from the train pipe to apply the brakes.

As a means for operating the valve in case of the derailment of the truck, a bar 23 has an offset end secured, as at 24, upon the bolster 25 of the adjacent truck, and the bar 23 projects longitudinally from the truck under the valve, and has its free end portion bent back, as at 26, to provide a loop through which the arm 17 depends, whereby should the truck be derailed, the bar or bracket 23 will be swung toward one side or the other, so that the arm 17 will bev swung likewise. l/Vhen the arm 17 is swung sufficiently in either direction, the lug 16 is removed from the lug 12, so that the valve can be thrown open by the air pres/sure.

As a means for releasing the valve in the event that one of the brake beams is accidentally dropped, a rock shaft 27 is journaled in a transverse position below the body 2 by bearings or hangers 28 carried by said body, and hangers 29 are carried by the shaft 27 and are provided at their lower ends with arms 30 extending longitudinally under the brake beams 31 of the truck. Should either or both of the brake beams be loosened, they will be caught by the arms 30 and supported, to prevent a wreck orfother accident, and this will swing the hangers 29 due to the depression of the arms 30 by the weight of the brake beam or beams. The arms 30 are normally raised by means of a coiled wire retractile spring 32 connecting one arm and the body 2, although any other suitable spring means can be used for this purpose. A chain 33 or otherflexible element has one end connected to one arm 30, the chain 33 and spring 32 being preferably at that side of the brake beamsopposite the hangers 29, whereby to prevent the brake beams from sliding off ofthe arms 30 when they are dropped.v The chain 33 passes over pulleys or guides 3st hung from the body 2, and the chain passes and bears against the bent back portion 26 l and from there extends downwardly through an apertured ear or eye 35 projecting to one side from the lower end of the arm 17 A ball or other suitable weight 36 is attached `to the free end of the chain 33 below the ear 35 and is of sufcient size that it cannot pass through said ear when the chain is pulled. The chain is pulled whenever the arms 30 are depressed, whereby the weight 36 in contacting with the ear 35 will resultv Y in a train pipe and having a boss provided with a concaved recess, the casing having'an outlet port centrally of said recess, a valve head pivotally connected with the valve casing, a heini-spherical gasket having its flat side fitting said head and seatable snugly in said recess, securing means extending through the gasket and into the head, means carried by the casing for holding said'head with the gasket seated in said recess, and means for releasing said holding means.V

2. A safety appliance for" railroad cars embodying a valve adapted to be interposed in a train pipe, an oscillatory membern carried by the valve for'holding it closed when said member is in one position, said member having a guiding element, a iiexible element extending through said guide element, and a Vweight carried by said flexible elementfor holding it taut and adapted to contact With said guiding element when theiiexible element is pulled for swinging said member to release the valve.

3. A safety appliance for railroad cars embodying a normally closed valve adapted to be interposed in the train pipe, a swing-k ice ing device adapted to be hung from a car body and having means to extend below the brake beams of a truck for catching them, whereby said device is swung, and means whereby when said device is swung the valve is operated to open it.

d. A safety appliance for railroad cars embodying a normally closed valve to be interposed in a train pipe, a rock shaft adapted to be carried by a vcar body, hangers carried by said shaftand having arms extending therefrom to be disposed below the Ybrake beams of a truck for catching and support-V ing said beams whereby the arms are de# pressed and the hangers swung, and means operable when'said arms are depressed for operating the valve so that it opens. i

5. A safety appliancefor railroad cars embodying a normally closed valve, an oscillatory member assembled therewith for aan holding the valve closed when in one posiwhen the chain is pulled by the depression tion, said member having a guide element, of said arms, and spring means for normally a rock shaft adapted to be hung from a car raising said arms. body, hangers carried by said shaft and haV- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 5 ing arms projecting therefrom to be dismy own, I have hereto affixed my signature l5 posed below the brake beams of a truck, a in the presence of two Witnesses.

guided flexible element attached to one of v BENJAMIN HOOVER. said arms and extending through said guide Witnesses:

. element, a Weight attached to the flexible I-I. J. BARNES,

10 element to Contact With the guide element C. L. HUGHES.

Copies ot this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

